Herbal Essences Naked

I have a Klout account and along with being active on many social media sites, I finally received a perk that I can use. I received from Herbal Essences their Naked shampoo, conditioner and dry shampoo. How exciting is that! Granted the shampoo and conditioner are travel sized, I still think that's pretty cool. 

So what do I think of them, instant smell of lavender from shampoo and an interesting mix of  grapefruit and minty scent from the conditioner and dry shampoo. 

I'm all about the conditioner since my hair tends to be on the dry frizzy side, so I need a bit of weight. Compared to my conditioners I use*, yes, it left my hair feeling silky and would consider, though I'm in favor with what I already have.

As for the dry shampoo. I compared it to my Göt2b Rockin'it dry shampoo. I liked the grapefruit/mint smell of Herbal Essences , and it showed up clear and I didn't feel the powder texture as I do from my Göt2b Rockin'it.  Also I don't have to brush, brush, brush to blend it since there is no white residue. So I'm happy that I got to see how another product was. 

The differences which might make Göt2b "powdery" white on my hair could be the rice starch, where as Herbal Essences has tapioca starch. But I'm no chemistry expert.  

I'm not sure I would buy the full size products since I'm a TRESemmé fan of their climate control shampoo and I do like my hair mask as my conditioner. I didn't have that, "I need this in my life" feeling, however, it's not a bad line of products. 

If your a fan of the brand, give this a try if you haven't yet :)

*I use TRESemmé climate controlled shampoo, Dove damage therapy conditioner and Orlando Pita Argan Restoring Treatment Hair Mask, which I love. You can see I have a damage hair and frizzy problem. Perks of curly hair. 

Thanks for Reading!!

Update after Juice Beauty

Back in September (here) I wrote a review about rather I was loving the Juice Beauty product or I hated it. Here is my updated answer...

LOVE IT!


After having ran out, during the month of November I realized I missed it. I noticed my small pimples coming up and my face wasn't as smooth anymore. So what is on my Christmas list for 2014, Juice Beauty skin care. The cleanser, serum and apple peel.

I have tried the moisturizer that came with the started kit, and I don't care for it much. It's thicker than my Simple moisturizer and has a weird minty smell and greasy feeling.

So I'm saying YES! I have combination skin and I have moderate breakouts, and this product really helped minimized the breakouts and made my skin look great.

This is a product I feel you would need to continue to use to have the results last, which is not a problem since I wash my face 2x daily.

I know there are other products out there that you love and work for you, but if  your looking for something new, I would definitely recommend giving this line a try.

Thanks for reading!!!

Better Late than Never

Better late than never I guess. Leading up to the fall months, I had quiet the welcoming. I finally saw David Guetta on my first trip to Las Vegas, Kings of Leon, Walk the Moon and went with my sister to the Halloween Hunt at Universal Studios. 

It was a busy September and October but now that Thanksgiving is coming up, I don't know what to expect what experiences will come my way. 

Oh YES! and the first week of October marks the Scandinavian Festival and International Festival in Davis. The pictures were of our Finnish booth at the International Festival in Davis. 

Love sharing my heritage and nationality. 

I'm happy that I finally posted a blog post, lets hope I can keep up with all my activities and start sharing some recipes and products again :)  

Juice Beauty Facial Products: Love it or Hate it

On August 18th I bought Juice Beauty facial set from Ulta, a beauty store for my international friends. This set came with a cleanser, serum, peel and a moisturizer ( I have not tried the moisturizer). 

They are a deluxe sample size, so I wouldn't have to buy full sizes if I didn't like it, or I got a freaky reaction. I noticed that my current face cleansers were not "working" anymore and it was time to find something else. 

Juice Beauty is an organic skin care line that says clear skin in 30 days. On the box it says it has no parabens, propylene, petroleum and silicones, just to list a few. It does have a light funky smell to it , but I don't mind. 

I was breaking out and my face was now immune to the products I’ve been using, so while at Ulta, I was introduced to Juice Beauty. 

By week 2 I had broken out a little, but it seems that I wasn't alone since in some reviews, girls had mention the same thing happening, so I pushed to week 3. By then I had that weird feeling when I saw a clear face, no pimples! Since then breakouts here and there, almost every other week, clear one week, then breakout the next. It’s tough.

Here I’m in week 5 and I noticed my skin looks great, but the pimples still come, 1 or 2 at a time. I'm forever getting 1 pimple, goes away, and then there's another. I don't get it, the box says blemish, and picture of a face full of acne, so is my pop up pimple something else? Is it my diet? The water? Laziness? - Maybe? Maybe not? But my skin looks great, minus the occasional pimple. 

I saw something happening week 3, then nothing after that. So I cheated during the tough pimple days. I noticed the serum has .75% salicylic acid where as my Neutrogena has 2%. So on a very bad day/days, where I just can't stand a monster, I put my Neutrogena Rapid Clear Spot Gel, which helps. Toothpaste if I need business to happen. (is that a myth? I don’t know, but it helps me.)

What I really like about this line however, is the cleanser and the peel. The peel, my goodness! It's really just a thick liquid you set on a pimple/blemish for 10 mins and wash off. It gives a tingling feeling, so it's doing something. I do notice after cleansing and putting this on, then the serum, I wake up, and there is a slight difference in size. 

If when I decide to repurchase the cleanser and the peel, since they are my 2 favorites, I'll have to really think since the cleanser is $22 and peel $39. I don't want to think how much I've spent to find THE ONE acne treatment for me, but it’s a lot and I end up with a cocktail of facial products that make their rounds on my face.

The problem is they work, but then they stop working and my breakouts are stronger, maybe my acne hormones are stronger. I'm hot and cold with this line, but I wish they had a more stronger option, then maybe my face would be like the ones you see on the before and after, with nice skin tone WITHOUT the bumps. 

Thank you for reading my jumbled up review about this line, "importantly", a brand that is Organic. Maybe my face needs a mix of pure and regular products. All I know is that I’m half way through the bottles, so I’ll see how it goes from here… maybe I need 60 days not 30.

Thanks for reading!

If you have a product that works for you, let me know! I'm still looking for the one! :)

Yelp Farm to Handle Sacramento

**excuse any misspelling and picture sizing, this is a true post on the go done on my phone. Will fix sizing once access to computer! Thank you friends! 

Wow! First post on the go! Literally, I'm in the car back home from my first yelp event!

I'll start off by saying WOW! I was taken away about how many people came today during the peek of the heat during the day!  Free food and drinks will bring out the yelpers! (There was a $10 donation for Saint Johns Program for Real Change which handed out yummy cookies!)

Over all it was so much fun, trying the local restaurants and wineries. My favorite winery I tried was called Viaggio on the River from Acampo, they had a great Zinfandel. Also my mom and I liked Ironestone Vineyard from Murphys, CA.  

Then the food I tried, Buckhorn Grill had a sample of their Char-Roasted Sirloin Tri-Tip, YUM! Paesanos also had a great sample, sadly I do not remember what it was. 

I guess I'll just share this much since I'm almost home! But I really enjoyed my day there. Also thank you to giggle & riot fun booth for the great pictures! Also to Capitol Dime for the Honey whiskey and Margarita drinks!

Thanks for reading! 

Welcome September

This post is some what like a diary entry since I've been doing little things here and there. I also decided to add some photos from my Instagram to add some fun to this post :)

It's been a while since I posted last but it's hard to find the motivation while my job search is not going to well. However, I can share that I am trying a new face product and planning on writing a little review on that and I'm going on an exciting trip later this month and I am also planning on sharing that experience. PLUS 2 concerts I going to, Kings of Leon and Walk the Moon, pretty exciting about those.

I've done somethings during this summer. ie. Lake Tahoe, State Fair, Sonoma, Wine Tasting, Swimming, Nights Out, Casino and Volunteering, just on the top of my head. :) 

It's weird to think I was more active on my blog a year ago, while living in West LA and working in Santa Monica. Now that I'm home, it's just looking for jobs and emailing CVs, walking the dog and taking care of my nephew on the weekends.

With that lack of interviews happening, I've had only 2 and sent out over 20 emails the back 2 months, moving back to Finland for my masters sooner is looking like a more solid plan, at least I will have the government aid and no headache about health care and the cleaner air and cheaper options to visit neighboring countries. OH YES AND WATER! Also finding a job maybe a little easier too, if I put as much work as I'm doing here, I think I would break even with my applying to interview ratio.

I'm now just rambling but It has been a long while since I made a present on here. Looking forward to writing about my new facial cleanser I've been using, so look out for that.

Bye for now!

Thanks for reading!

Dublin Trip

On May 27th my sister and I went off to Dublin Ireland. I've been once before, during their lovely rain storm in October of 2011, but lucky for us, the weather was perfect.

DAY 1: ARRIVE AND BEER

To start our trip we flew with Norwegian Air, which was great since they had wifi on board.

Once we landed we took bus 747 to Gardiner Street Lower, which was where our hotel was.
We stayed at Abbot Lodge Guesthouse. The location was perfect! Down the street from the busy O'Connell Street and the perfect shopping strip, Henry Street. We were also a nice 10 min walk to Fleet Street. A bonus was the tour we booked starts it's pick up 10 mins away on Abbey Street. More on the tour later. 

My Review of Abbot Lodge Guesthouse


Guinness Store House  was one of the places on my list to see. Last visit to Dublin I didn't take the tour, so this was a definetly TO DO! Spent a good 4 hours roaming around from floor to floor, looking at all they shared. 

I didn't expect to be a self guided tour, to be honest I didn't know much about what to expect from the tour. I had enjoyed the tour and seeing the history of Guinness and how they operate their product. 
  

Plus the tasting room and a free pint while enjoying the panoramic view of Dublin. 

DAY 2: TOUR BUS DAY

To spend the only FULL day we had in Dublin, we booked a day trip via Collins Day Tour. For a 30 euro adult ticket we toured Glendalough, Wicklow Mountains and Kilkenny City. I really
recommend this tour group, our guide is from the area and she shared so much interesting facts about the history and some famous people that live in the area of Wicklow. 

Along the way to the places was the Irish countryside, rolling green hills with sheep, it was beautiful, also rocks, lots of rocks. 

It's an Irish tale, if your fingers can touch while hugging a cross,
 you'll be married in the year. I'll have to Google this.  

DAY 3: COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

After visiting Dublin, we had a layover in Copenhagen. From the airport my sister and I went out for an adventure. Once we left we both realized we do not speak the language. Danish is more like Swedish, so we were just lost, however the people there do speak English.

Our goal was to find the mermaid, so we walked along the marina and took our picture. We stumbled upon Amalienborg and watched the guards change, but honestly we were clueless of the place until we Googled later. 

But the next best part... the restaurant we had a late lunch at. So good. We went to Havfruen. I had the fish of the day and my sister had the steak. 

Then it was back to the airport and say good bye to our adventurous 3 days. Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Any questions? Leave a comment :) 

Thanks for reading!

Graduation

Wow! 3 years and 11 months went by and look I finally graduated!

Monday June 9th I officially graduated from my University in Finland. I finished my thesis back in April and the wait is over!

What's next? I don't know. All I know is that I'm going to enjoy my freedom before I make anymore big decisions. 

Living in Finland has taught me a lot and comparing both US and Finland, both places have their own special something, though my life has been much easier in Finland. 

Graduation Present:  Kalevala Necklace

Living here, I see how easy it is to travel to neighboring countries and having the urge to live in one of them. Maybe my future lays in the UK, Spain, Netherlands or even Finland. Why not? What I thought my life would be like after graduating, it has changed, and now I know not expect things to stay as they are. 

Let the job search begin and summer to start! 

Thanks for reading! 

Half Marathon Experience: Helsinki City Run

I DID IT! I finally ran my half marathon that I was training for these past couple months!

May 10th I ran in the Helsinki City Run and finished! It's been my goal to run in a half marathon and I'm glad I got to check it of my to-do list.

That's 21km, 13 miles, and my time... 2:07:56. :)

Looking back during my training I got hurt a couple times, sat out 2 weeks and had a slow recovery training before the big day. What helped me through it was the satisfaction I would get once I crossed the finished line.

My savor was Tiger Balm , Ibuprofen and Zip Fizz Energy Drink. ( I wrote about Zip Fizz HERE)

I'm normally a long distance runner, so 21km wasn't bad, but my knees start to hurt around 15km mark, which is painful, but manageable.

My after race dinner at Chicos... mmmmm... so worth it :)

Now I can't wait for the next one, I think I found my new hobby. I normally run alone for exercise, so why not be social and... run alone with people? There is some logic there. :)

Anyway....

Thanks for reading!